Crusader girls coast into 3A state semifinals

COOS BAY — When St. Mary's went to its matchup zone defense, Scio was no match for it in the quarterfinals of the Class 3A girls basketball state tournament Thursday at Marshfield High.

COOS BAY — When St. Mary's went to its matchup zone defense, Scio was no match for it in the quarterfinals of the Class 3A girls basketball state tournament Thursday at Marshfield High.

St. Mary changed its defense in the third quarter and outscored the Loggers 17-1 in the period, pulling away for a 59-24 victory and a berth in the semifinals.

The Crusaders (25-2), champions of the Southern Cascade Hybrid, take on surprising Willamina at 6:30 tonight. Willamina upset Vale, the state's No. 2-rated team based on OSAA rankings and a popular choice to win the tournament, 43-32.

Emily Alvarez scored 17 points — including nine during a stretch in which St. Mary's built its lead from 29-18 to 43-18.

St. Mary's led 24-17 at halftime, using a mix of presses and man-to-man defense.

When Viv Juncal opened the third quarter with a steal and a layup, Crusaders coach Richard Vasey elected to pull his defenders back into a zone and see how Scio reacted.

"We saw it was frustrating them so we stuck with it," said Vasey.

The Loggers (20-10) were only 4 of 24 from the field in the first half. That dropped to 2 of 17 in the second half.

The PacWest Conference champions, who moved up this year from Class 2A, finished with 21 turnovers, and St. Mary's scored 23 points off them.

"One of the things we did was go to our matchup zone and, boy, they just couldn't figure it out," said Vasey. "They were looking for anything they could get, and our kids just dug in and played tough, tough defense. They had to work the ball around so much just to get a look, and it was eating time off the clock."

Eaton's play was inspiring, said coach Vasey. She injured a knee during a Christmas tournament and only returned to action last week. Her points came in just six minutes, and she made all three of her field goals.

"It was nice to see her do that with what she's been through," he said.

Vasey, in his first year as head coach, hopes his team's performance carries over.

"It's good to get it out of the way," he said. "What a great win, and the confidence going into tomorrow is going to be good."

VALLEY CATHOLIC 64, CASCADE CHRISTIAN 44 — At North Bend, three-time Lewis and Clark League champion Valley Catholic, the No. 2 team in the OSAA rankings, overwhelmed Cascade Christian to advance to the semifinals.

It was the Valiants' 16th straight win, upping their record to 23-3.

Jarrett Gray scored 16 points for Valley Catholic, making all but one of his seven field goal attempts. He also had three steals. Carter Buuck grabbed nine boards.

For Cascade Christian (22-6), the Southern Cascade Hybrid champion, Jake Brown scored 10 points and Cody Coggins nine. David Sellers had seven rebounds and three blocks but was held to three points.

Valley Catholic did most of its damage in the first half, leading 19-7 after one quarter and 32-16 at halftime.

The Valiants shot 52.1 percent from the field for the game and were even better from 3-point distance, making 55.6 percent.

Conversely, the Challengers shot 32.1 percent afield, making only 18 of 56 shots.

Cascade Christian plays De La Salle at 10:45 this morning at Marshfield High in Coos Bay. De La Salle fell to Blanchet, 78-40.